John Dale Thomas, Track Superintendent of the Virginia Equine Alliance (VEA), spent two weeks at the Middleburg Training Center in December and directed a much needed track improvement project to the facility’s racing surface. The VEA donated his time, which enabled Thomas to conduct the effort. “Several of the trainers based at Middleburg asked if I could do something about it and the VEA gave me their blessing and encouraged me to move forward on the project.”
VEA Track Superintendent J.D. Thomas is pictured showing a horse
Thomas took the cushion of the 7/8ths mile track off all the way to the base — about 14 inches — and pushed that material to the outside and higher parts of the track to inspect the areas along the inside rail. “The track had been very uneven but the base was in great shape,” said the veteran trackman. “Paul Mellon did a great job building this oval, but It’s probably been 30 years since a real grader has been on it. The project took some doing, but the trainers are happy now,” added Thomas, who put the cushion back evenly and has graded it several times since.
J.D. Thomas was former Track Superintendent at Colonial Downs. He is shown here overlooking the 180 foot wide Secretariat Turf Course
The training center, based an hour west of Washington, DC, was founded in 1956 by philanthropist Paul Mellon as his private training track. The surface is a combination of dirt and sand, and the track features a short chute and a starting gate. The complex contains are 20 horse barns, tack rooms, grooms quarters, 20 paddocks and National Hunt fences for steeplechase training. The center is great for breaking yearlings or giving racetrack weary horses a refreshing change of pace and scenery.